Beckham Gets Regal Honor
David Beckham has finally made it all the way from “Beckingham Palace,” his home outside London, to Buckingham Palace.
On Thursday, the Real Madrid and former Manchester United star was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II for his services to soccer.
“It’s great to receive an honor for playing football, for something I love doing,” said Beckham, decked out in a black top hat and tails and sporting two diamond earrings and a gold watch chain.
“This is just an amazing day,” England’s captain said. “It’s a dream come true. It’s definitely on a par with my football medals -- if not better. Her Majesty said she was very pleased to be giving me this award.”
Boca Wins Title
Boca Juniors clinched their 20th Argentine league championship Thursday when they defeated Arsenal, 2-1, to open an insurmountable lead in the standings and give Coach Carlos Bianchi his fourth national title with the Buenos Aires club.
Bianchi led the team to three league championships, two Copa Libertadores titles and the Intercontinental Cup during his first stint in charge from 1998 to 2001. He returned as coach one year ago.
Boca, which in July defeated Brazilian champion Santos to again win the Copa Libertadores, will play European champion AC Milan in Japan on Dec. 14 for the Intercontinental Cup.
Blatter’s Reaction
One of Boca Juniors’ standout players is teenager Carlos Alberto Tevez, who has sparked a bitter club-versus-country battle by refusing to play for Argentina at the FIFA World Youth Championship that began Thursday in the United Arab Emirates so that he can play for Boca against AC Milan next month.
Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, FIFA’s president, warned that Tevez’s action in taking the dispute to the civil courts could backfire and that he could be banned.
“This player has pulled out at the last moment and, to make matters worse, he has taken the case to a local court,” an angry Blatter said in the UAE on Wednesday. “If he doesn’t come up with a valid point, then he may end up playing football in court or on the moon.”
The three-week World Youth Championship kicked off Thursday with Slovakia routing the host UAE, 4-1, at Abu Dhabi. The United States opens play on Saturday against Paraguay.
Peruvian Meltdown
The Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) Thursday canceled the remainder of the league season after the country’s leading clubs failed to reach agreement to end a three-week strike by players demanding $800,000 in unpaid wages and bonuses.
Quick Passes
U.S. national team striker Clint Mathis, a free agent because his contract with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars has expired, has been training with Leicester City in England and will be given a tryout next week by Scottish champion Rangers.... Paraguayan striker Jose Saturnino Cardozo scored twice as Toluca routed Chivas of Guadalajara, 4-0, in the first leg of a two-game playoff to determine a place in the Mexican league’s championship quarterfinals.... England’s Football Assn. has offered Sven-Goran Eriksson of Sweden a two-year contract extension that would keep him in charge of England’s team through the 2008 European Championship in Austria and Switzerland.
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Times wire services contributed to this report.
